October 1, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
73 
Cabbage notable for the great size of their heads as 
compared with the leaves. The heads are very 
broad, shortly conical and firm, containing much 
material, and the leaves are quite of a blue tint. 1 he 
heads of Large Early Conical are much smaller than 
those of Carter's Model, but the bluish leaves are 
rather bulky and spreading. All Heart may be com¬ 
pared to Carter's Model for the great size of its coni¬ 
cal heads, its dwarf habit, and moderately bulky 
foliage. Both sorts arerecommendable for cottagers 
who cut up their Cabbages before cooking. A good 
Cabbage also is Reading Defiance in the style of 
Enfield Market, with wrinkled leaves, but smaller. 
Allam’s Incomparable is apparently a good Cabbage, 
but rather mixed in character, so that it is impossible 
to say what really is the type. 
A few of the varieties grown are so gross and bulky 
in their nature that they would seem more fitted for 
field culture than in the garden. One of these is 
Sugarloaf, an oval or oblong Cabbage of great size, 
and the leaves are spreading and very gross. The 
plants of Large York, although two feet apart each 
way, fully occupied the space allotted them. The 
oval heads are of great size, and the plants tall and 
gross. Offenham, on the contrary, has a shortly 
;onical head of great size and broad at the base, with 
large leaves. Even stronger growing is Enfield Mar¬ 
ket, with larger and spreading light green wrinkled 
leaves. Another gross-growing sort is Sutton’s In¬ 
comparable, with conical pointed heads, apparently 
of good quality but altogether too large for ordinary 
garden culture. 
-- 5 -- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar 
East India House. —The Phalaenopsis will now 
be fast making up their season’s growth, and spikes 
will be making their appearance. There are be¬ 
tween forty and fifty species of this beautiful genus, 
all of which are worthy of a place in any collection, 
but generally speaking those mostly grown are 
P. amabilis, P. grandiflora, P. Schilleriina, P. Stuar- 
tiana, P. Luddemanniana, and P. Sanderiana, all of 
which require a stove temperature to do them well, 
with plenty of moisture at the root during the time 
they are making their growth, which is from March 
to October. From now onwards they should be 
watered with great caution, and the spraying over¬ 
head which is so beneficial during summer discon¬ 
tinued ; at the same time they must not by any 
means be allowed to suffer for the want of water, for 
with an absence of the pseudobulbs with which most 
Orchids are endowed, they are unable to withstand 
any check in this direction. Sponging the foliage 
about once a week will keep down thrips and free the 
leaves from any dirt that might accumulate thereon. 
Shading should now be done most carefully, for 
although they cannot withstand the bright rays of 
the sun under cultivation on account of their suc¬ 
culent growth, we must remember that they are to 
be found in their native habitats growing on bare 
rocks and branches of trees where they get plenty of 
light. It will thus be seen how necessary it is for 
their benefit that all the light possible be afforded 
them from now onward, without allowing them to 
come in contact with the direct rays of the sun. 
Cypripedium Spicerianum.— Plants coming into 
flower in the Cattleya house will be all the better if 
given a little more warmth, for although they grow 
freely enough during summer under cooler treatment, 
the flowers come finer when placed in more heat. 
Angrascum sesquipedale does well enough in the 
Cattleya house from April to September, when it 
will be more at home in the warmer section. 
Saccolabiums should now have all the light 
possible, and but little shade, so as to properly 
mature their growths and ensure the production of 
good spikes of bloom at the proper season. Watering 
with care must now be the order of the day, the 
sphagnum moss and the feel of the leaves being a 
good tell-tale. Too much water with a low tempera¬ 
ture during winter brings on the “ spot." The 
treatment of Aerides is identical with that adopted 
with Saccolabiums, except that they cannot stand 
being dry at the roots to such an extent, the foliage 
not being so thick or fleshy. 
Cattleya House.— The shading of this house 
should be discontinued except on very bright days, 
when they may be useful in keeping the temperature 
from running up too high which is undesirable just 
now. We have just removed the Miltonia Vexillarium 
(which have been growing with the Odontoglossums 
during the summer) into this house for the winter. 
-C. 
Cattleya Statteriana. 
The numerous beautiful and distinct varieties of 
Cattleya Dowiana and sub-varieties of C. D. aurea 
that now grace the finer collections throughout the 
country show a greater richness in this Cattleya 
than the most sanguine could have dreamed of a few 
years ago. That under notice comes nearest to 
C. Dowiana Rex, but the lip is larger and finer, 
unless good culture is to be held accountable for the 
size of the flowers of C. Statteriana as exhibited at 
the Drill Hall on the 20th ult. by Thos. Statter, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Robert Johnson), Stand Hall, Man¬ 
chester. The sepals are creamy-white, but the 
petals are much paler, almost white, and folded back 
at the sides. The lip is the grandest feature of the 
flower, the lamina being of large size with two large 
and long, golden-yellow blotches on the sides, a 
purple margin and the upper portion of a crimson- 
purple ; the tube externally is netted and striated 
with purple on a yellow ground, while the interior is 
striped with gold and purple, the latter forming the 
broader lines. There were two large flowers on the 
plant, and a First-class Certificate was awarded it. 
Cattleya Minucia. 
The flowers of this hybrid Cattleya are about the 
size of those of C. Gaskeliana, and the parents were 
C. Loddigesii and a variety of C. labiata. The 
sepals are oblong and of a soft lilac-purple, while the 
petals are oblong-ovate and similar in hue, except at 
the base where they are darker. The uniform and 
soft but pleasing hue has evidently been derived from 
C. Loddigesii. The tube of the lip externally and 
internally is of a darker lilac-purple ; there is a soft 
or pale yellow blotch on the disc of the lip, and a deep 
purple blotch on each side of the apex’. It is a 
pleasing Cattleya, although it presents nothing very 
striking, and an Award of Merit was accorded it 
when shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Odontoglossum ramosissimum. 
This Odontoglot has never been very common in gar¬ 
dens in this country and probably in noother country. 
The flowers individually are of small size, but taken in 
the aggregate are very handsome if the plant has 
been well grown. The flowers are variable in 
different individuals, but usually they are spotted 
with mauve-purple or violet on a white ground. 
The flowers of a form sent us by Mr. Yea, gardener 
to Admiral Fairfax, Ravenswood, Melrose, were 
pure white, excepting a mauve-purple portion at the 
base of each segment of the flower. They were cut 
from a magnificent spike bearing 250 blooms, which 
must be a silent witness of the ability of Mr. Yea as 
a cultivator. We sometimes see a fair panicle of 
bloom on recently imported plants bearing fifty to 
eighty flowers, but more often weakened plants may 
be seen with less than half that amount of bloom. 
It is only by patient nursing that the pristine vigour 
of the plant can be regained, after which, however, 
the plant is an object of great beauty and could not 
fail to reward those cultivators who make a point of 
doing it well. 
Zygopetalum Lindeni. 
The flowers of this species are produced singly on 
the peduncles, and are of that form which relegates 
them to the section Warscewiczella, which is more 
often recognised by gardeners than Zygopetalum 
itself. A flowering plant was exhibited by Messrs. 
Linden, Leopold Park, Brussels, at the Drill Hall on 
the 7th of June last and was awarded a First-class 
Certificate. Now abeautiful figure of it appears in the 
Lindenia, pi. 337, showing the habit of the plant and 
the flowers, which are pure white with exception of 
some radiating, purple lines upon the lip. The latter 
is the largest and most conspicuous organ of the 
flower, as it is in the case of most or all other species 
of this genus. Its precise habitat has not been dis¬ 
closed, but it will no doubt thrive under the same 
treatment as that accorded to Z. (Warscewiczella) 
discolor and others of the same group. 
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN. 
The Stove. —Now that shading can be dispensed 
with for the season, a thorough overhauling of the 
occupants and their rearrangement so that they may 
be seen to the most advantage, should be given. The 
stems and leaves should be overhauled to destroy 
any insects if present, and the plants allocated to 
positions where they will be most effective in com¬ 
bination and at the same time exposed to light with¬ 
out crowding. 
Camellias and Oranges —Large plants of 
these in pots and tubs should be thoroughly cleansed 
before taking them indoors. The leaves often get 
black and filthy if scale has been allowed to accumu¬ 
late upon them, and to take them indoors in this 
condition would be to keep the floors and atmos¬ 
phere in a saturated condition while they were being 
washed. Preparations should also be made to 
remove them indoors in case of frosty mornings. 
Heaths and Azaleas.— What has been said 
about the housing of Camellias will also apply here. 
If there is any trace of red spider or thrip upon the 
Azaleas, they should get a thorough syringing on the 
underside of the leaves with a strong solution of soft 
soap or Gishurst Compound, and washed with clean 
water afterwards. Heaths must be dusted with 
sulphur if there is the slightest trace of mildew. 
Epacris and other hard wooded plants will also have 
to be removed to shelter at no distant date. 
Chrysanthemums. —The sharp frost, ranging 
from 3 0 to io°, which was experienced in the 
southern counties of England on the morning of the 
18th ult., was a good reminder to Chrysanthemum 
growers of what they may expect at any time after 
this date. As it was some of the buds of the more 
forward plants were considerably injured. All are 
aware that they should be left out of doors as long 
as possible, but at the same time a house should be 
held in readiness for their reception at any moment. 
An early vinery from which the fruit has been cut 
and the leaves have mostly dropped would be a 
suitable place for them. They will derive great 
benefit from artificial or liquid manure, as the case 
may be. 
Peaches.— The indoor crop as far as the south is 
concerned has mostly been gathered. The leaves 
are now dropping in the earliest house ; but although 
the tops of the trees are practically resting the roots 
are still active, and must not be allowed to suffer by 
the borders getting dry, otherwise there will be a 
great dropping of the buds in spring. A little arti¬ 
ficial heat should still be kept on late in succession 
houses so as to encourage the ripening of the wood. 
Gross and useless shoots should be corrected or 
removed, and all wood not required for fruiting next 
year. 
Melons. —The comparatively clear atmosphere 
with which we have been favoured for some time 
past has been favourable to the progress of late 
Melons, and the cultivator should always bear in 
mind that judicious ventilation will secure that 
robustness of tissue which will enable the foliage to 
withstand exposure to bright sunshine without 
flagging, and to bring the fruit to perfection. Keep 
the laterals well stopped as soon as the requisite or 
desirable number of fruits has been set. 
Cucumbers. —The object of the cultivator at 
this season of the year with Cucumbers intended for 
winter fruiting should be to keep the plants as 
sturdy as possible so that the wood will be strong 
and short jointed. Plants put in the beds about the 
beginning of September will now be approaching the 
top of the wires, and if the stems are short jointed 
all will be well. Judicious ventilation should 
always be given to secure this end. 
Tomatos out of doors.— Plants in the open 
ground and on open walls are liable to be cut down 
by frost at any time after this date, though should 
the weather remain open, many of the fruits may 
yet ripen upon the plants. Gather all the fruits that 
are well or even partly coloured and lay them on 
the shelves of a Peach house, vinery or greenhouse 
where the atmosphere is kept dry and they will 
colour up beautifully. It will also leave the plants 
in a position better able to hurry on the fruits they 
still carry. It would be worth while covering up at 
nights when there is an appearance of frost any 
plants that may still bear heavy crops of fruit. 
Light frosts could in that way be staved off for some 
time to come. 
Cabbages. —Make up any blanks that may occur 
amongst recently planted Cabbages, and where any 
of the plants present a flabby appearance it may be 
conjectured that something is wrong at the root. 
Grubs are often the cause of this, and should be 
sought for and destroyed. 
